November 4, 2008- Get Out and VOTE!

When I was younger I kind of followed the elections. I know who was running and I knew who I wanted to win, even if it was for a certain reason that had nothing to do with their political stand point. But now I am 18 and I finally get to vote. This is a right that should be taken very seriously. I guess I have always agreed with my parents on certain issues, like if I am conservative or liberal in my views. Now I don't have to follow what my parents do I have my own voice and my own vote. I believe before you can make any decision on who you want to vote for you need to learn about each candidate. Get on their websites and see how they stand on the issues that are important to you. Then make your decision based on that information, not on race or gender which are very important parts of the 2008 Election. History will be set after this election no matter who wins. Barack Obama would be the first African American President of the United States, even though he is not fully African American because his mother is white. While if John McCain was to be elected President he would be the oldest at the time of the election to be the United States President and Sarah Palin would be the first female Vice President. So this election is going to be a historic one. So get out and vote on November 4 and exercise your right as an American citizen. And if you do not vote you have no right to complain about who wins! If you can't go out and vote you can vote absentee, like I did!

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Halfway to being Halfway through Freshman Year

It is midterm time, the halfway point in fall semester. This is my first taste of what college exams are going to be like. My IDC midterm is my first one and it is approaching very rapidly. Our professor told the class about the format of the midterm. All of the questions are from review questions that we have answered for homework. So we have seen all this questions and have discussed them in class. For me I am going to make flashcards of all the questions with the answers on the back. So I can make sure I know all of the correct answers. I am also going to study with some other people in my class. During this semester I have learned so much. At the beginning of the semester I was having trouble in my Western Art class and I decided that I needed to change the way I take my notes. So after we talked about note taking in Converse 101 I started to write about all the different artwork on its on flashcard. With the flashcards I can have them done in class so I can study them after all of my classes are over. I also learned how to manage my time. Now I can get my homework and papers done in advance.

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Close Quarters

For me this has been my first experience sharing a room and living on the same hall with forty other girls. At first I thought it might be a little difficult to get use to, like living with a total stranger, but it was not as bad as a thought. Since this was my first time being away from my family and home for a long period of time I started to feel homesick the first week. Through all of those feelings of wanting to go back home and to be around all my old friends again, I realized that I can get through anything. Now I love it here! I have a new set of friends and I have experienced a lot new things. To be good hall mate, roommate, etc. you have to be respectful to each other. We all come from different backgrounds and cultures and we all have lived a certain way before. I live on the second floor, but I probably spend more time on the third floor then in my room. The third floor is where all my friends live and that floor just has a sense of community. I wish I knew more people on my hall and that it would feel like a community too. Another thing that I have learned is to listen to all your classmates comments and questions. Everyone has a different opinion or view on a subject matter that you could learn from.

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Study, Study, Study!

One day this past week I went to the library to work on my Ideas and Culture homework to see if maybe it was a better place to study than in my room. On most days after all my classes I sit in my room and get all my homework done. It is always quiet in my room, since my roommate is usually at work or volleyball practice. But the one thing that I cannot control about studying in my dorm room is the noise in the hallway. I live on the wing in the very last room at the end overlooking the Quad, so most of the time it is quiet. But the one that really surprised me was how well I could hear people's conversions if they are sitting outside of Williams or just people being loud outside anywhere. But sometimes there is that loud out burst of laughter that can mess up my concentration. The library was a nice and quiet place to do my homework, except on the first floor of the library it is kind of loud because of everyone walking in and out the door and with the people working at the front desk talking to other people. But anywhere on the second or third floor is a quiet place where I can get my homework done. So I have a feeling that after volleyball season I am going to be spending more time in the library so I can have some peace and quiet to be my homework.

*C.E.R.

Honesty

For Converse 101 we were challenged to be honest for 24 hours and see how we did. Well I would have to say it was pretty easy for me. I think this experience could be difficult for people who were never told not to lie or cheat. If you have a strong set of morals and you believe in doing the right thing, being honest will just come natural. At Converse College academic integrity is taken very seriously. All new students have to sign the Honor Code, which means they pledge to be honest and do what is right. Academic integrity is very important in the college setting. Your professors expect you to do your own work and they trust that it is yours. Having the Honor Code you know you are in a trustworthy and respectful environment. Your professors trust you and you can trust your classmates because they all signed it just like you did. It also levels the playing field, someone cannot get ahead of you by using someone else's ideas while you did your own work and can up with your own ideas. Also knowing that you did you own work and took your time you have a sense of pride because you know you earned the grade you got. You also know you earned your degree and it means something to you and you learned what you were suppose too. But overall if you do the reading and write the paper you will learn the material better than if you cheat on it. So being honest with your work will help you in the future.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt (26th President)

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Get Involved!

I am half way through my first full week and it is going by faster than I thought it would. Today we had an Involvement Fair where everyone could sign-up and join new clubs for the school year. I have found a couple of organizations that I hope to get involved in this year, PSA and the Athletic Association. The Presbyterian Student Association or PSA is a group of college students from the Spartanburg area colleges.This group has Bible studies and discussions, along with group excursions. This is also apart of the Student Christian Association group at Converse. I also found the group the Athletic Association which is responsible for the intramural sports program and the powder puff football game during 1889 Week. I feel that I could fit into both of these organizations very well. These groups match many of my interests and clubs that I was involved in during high school. I was an active member of my church youth group and I went on mission trips with them, so I think PSA will help that aspect of my life since I am away from my home and church. In high school I was also on the basketball team and I love sports in general so the Athletic Association would be great, because I really wanted to continue to play basketball in college just for fun. But in high school I was a member of the band both marching and concert bands, so that took up most of my time. I was involved in everything music related in high school, but here at college that has changed. I wish I could still play the flute just for the fun of it, but that would probably take up to much of my time with practicing and things like that. I think that I am definitely challenging my self to try new and different things because after all that is one of the things we go to college for.

"Don't be afraid to try something new. An amateur built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic."

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What do I expect my first semester in college to be like?

Today is the first day in my first full week as a college student and I have a feeling that this is going to be the longest week of my entire life. Last week was the start of school and lets just say it was nothing like a expected college life to be like. After the first two days I was so overwhelmed with all the of school work and reading that I was going to have to accomplish by the end of my first semester of college. I never expected the classes to be so hard and for me to have such a heavy work load, but now I believe I am kind of getting the hang of things slowly but surely. I have learned so much about my self and my weaknesses in the past week at school. I feel as each day passes I am getting better with my time management skills and learning that school work comes first. This first semester at college is going to be a huge transition from high school to college. I no longer live with my parents and they are not here to tell me what I can and cannot do. I am an independent women and have the freedom to make decisions for myself. My parents are not going to remind me to make sure I study and finish my homework, or to do my laundry for me, that is my job now. This semester is going to be filled with new experiences and challenges that will only help me grow as a person. The academic side of college is going to be the most difficult for me I believe. The professors are only going to expect the best from you and will push you because they know what you are capable of doing. There is going to be a lot more work and you will always have to read the books and be prepared for discussion during classes. Here at college is where I expect to meet friends that will last a lifetime and make my college years the best time of my life.

" You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the things which you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

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